


I shot the gun, but the hole is in my chest

by Bajillian



Category: One Piece
Genre: Canon Universe, Dead Donquixote "Corazon" Rosinante, Dressrosa Arc, Emotional Hurt, Gen, Grief, I think that qualifies?, Mentioned Donquixote “Corazon” Rosinante, One Shot, String Clone, kinda dark but not too much
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-29
Updated: 2021-01-29
Packaged: 2021-03-15 19:48:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29069802
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bajillian/pseuds/Bajillian
Summary: Doflamingo talks to Rosinante one more time.
Relationships: Donquixote Doflamingo & Donquixote "Corazon" Rosinante
Comments: 6
Kudos: 15





	I shot the gun, but the hole is in my chest

Thirteen years.

It’d been thirteen years since Rosinante had passed. And though he was the one who held the gun, the one who pulled the trigger… Doflamingo missed him.

Was that selfish? His own brother had betrayed him, so he knew his actions were justified. But that didn’t mean he hadn’t loved him. He was family, of course. Rosinante meant more to him than anyone else had or ever will, and nothing could change that. 

Doflamingo stood from his chair, the bottle of wine crashing to the floor. He didn’t care. His hand lifted and his fingers bent to create a string clone of his younger self, the one from thirteen years ago. It would have to do for now. 

He walked over to it and took the glasses off. The blue eyes were nothing like Rosinante’s brown ones. Those had to be fixed. Perhaps he could buy some contacts, but that would have to be solved later. He walked over to his closet and grabbed the box of Rosinante’s remaining belongings. He pulled out the blue eyeliner and red lipstick before walking back over to the clone. There was no way his shaky hands would allow for lines as clean as his brother was able to make, but he did his best at recreating the look and then took a step back. 

It still looked too much like himself. 

He moved closer to the clone again and ruffled his hair so it went from spikes to shaggy bangs. It helped, at least. He would’ve preferred if he’d still owned Rosinante’s clothes, but he went into his closet and pulled out a light pink shirt. It wasn’t exact, but it was the closest he had. He also grabbed white pants and a red beanie before he ordered the clone to get changed. 

Doflamingo smiled and took a step forward. “Rosi…” 

The clone was ordered to look back at him and smile. Rosinante never spoke, so he decided that the clone shouldn’t, either. Not that he really knew what he’d make the clone say anyway. 

After a moment of silence, Doflamingo’s smile faded into a frown. “I miss you, Rosi,” he said. “You were the last of the people I first called my family. Even if you did end up betraying me, I forgive you. I do suppose that is the problem with death being the only way to redeem yourself.” He reached forward to cup the clone’s cheeks and bring their foreheads together. His eyes closed, forcing tears to run down his own cheeks. 

He was silent again. 

When his arms wrapped around the clone, the clone did the same. He couldn’t see the effort he had put into making himself look like his late brother, but the feeling of the hug didn’t break the immersion too greatly. They’d been a similar build. He ordered the clone to squat down a bit to mimic Rosinante’s slightly shorter form. 

“I wonder what you would say if you could see me now, Rosi,” Doflamingo said. “I’ve taken my rightful place as the king of Dressrosa. Isn’t that wonderful?” The clone patted his back. Maybe it wasn’t accurate, but the thought of Rosinante being proud of his big brother made him happy. That was how it should’ve been. “Law is expected to be arriving here soon. He will either grant me eternal life with his op-op fruit, or I will kill him myself.”

The clone didn’t respond. 

“I’m sorry, but he must die. He’ll be forgiven the same way I forgave you and our idiot father.”

Silence. 

Doflamingo pulled away from the hug and got one last look at the clone, which was still smiling. He lifted a hand and turned the clone back into strings, catching the clothes before they fell so he could use the shirt to wipe away his tears. 

There was no more time to be vulnerable.

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you think! Kudos and comments are always appreciated! 💛  
> Also, come say hi to me on my [writing blog](https://bajillianwrites.tumblr.com/), where I post updates about what I'm working on!


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